1. HELPING CHEMISTS FIND JOBS IN A TOUGH MARKET. 2. TOWARDS A QUANTITATIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE QUALITY OF THE CHEMISTRY JOB MARKET.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Job posting: analytical chemist, Broad Institute

From the inbox, an RA III position at the Broad Institute:

Works within the Analytical Chemistry group to provide day-to-day maintenance and repair of analytical instrumentation. Role involves daily oversight of analytical instrumentation including UHPLC-MS, HPLC-MS, SFC-MS, NMR, and liquid handling such as Tecan. Instrumentation is used by either the analytical chemistry group or as open access for all institute members.

May involve additional daily oversight of other scientific instrumentation within the Center for the Development of Therapeutics. Conduct bench level experiments and method development for analytical functions including purity assessment, purification, analytical screening (RapidFire), and ADME.

Requires cross-functional interaction with organic chemists, software engineers, and other institute members on a daily basis. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, operating and maintaining analytical laboratory instrumentation; preparing, ordering, and maintaining necessary reagents, solutions, and supplies; and data collection and analysis...

Qualifications:

Bachelor’s or master’s degree in chemistry or analytical chemistry and a minimum of five to seven years of experience in a research laboratory, or equivalent training and experience
Proficiency in the maintenance and operation of analytical instrumentation (LC, MS, NMR) with a focus on the technical/engineering aspects of the instrumentation
Knowledge of other scientific instrumentation (high-throughput-screening robotics, liquid handling) is an asset
Familiarity with vendor software packages including Waters MassLynx, Agilent MassHunter, AB Sciex Analyst/Discovery Quant, and Burker TopSpin
Strong analytical skills and the ability to work independently
Strong communication skills and the ability to interact collaboratively with all staff levels
Efficient organizational and time management skills and the ability to multi-task in a fast paced environment

Multi-tasking is the new bad thing these days. About six months ago I started seeing articles on my facebook feed at how terrible multi-taskers are and how science proves it. It causes bad performance on many tasks due to distractions or something. It's all about people who can focus intently on one task for stretches of a few hours at a time these days. Of course, I don't buy any of this bullshit, just how I don't buy the 'multi-tasking' craze, but it's heartening to know that my skills on being able to focus for 12 hours a time on Civilization V or Europa Universalis IV, are now in high demand. Speaking of which, I have most of the other skills they are looking for, but I'm not well organized. Hmmm....